史传文体之“作”与“修”的矛盾

Contradiction Between“Creation”and“Compilation”in the Styles of Historical Narratives

史传与诸子在《汉书·艺文志》中属于文献分类,而在《文心雕龙》里则属于文体分类,当然纪昀对此早就提出质疑。从文体论看,史传必须保持求真实和树大义的文体特点,以《春秋左氏传》为例,其间“《春秋》大义”与“因鲁史”就构成孔子之《春秋》的文体应有之标准,即使实录也离不开善恶是非等大义之表达,若《春秋》无大义,则一部《春秋》将黯淡无光。因而衍生出历史上存在的孔子“作《春秋》”与“修《春秋》”两种不同叙事,从经学和史学两个角度辨析其所指。从史传文体特征而论,一方面孔子作《春秋》,凸显其当一部大法的原创性价值;另一方面孔子修《春秋》却是兼顾史家思想和史料的最佳结合,以至于达到游夏之徒不能赞一辞的绝对高度。然而,从孔子到左丘明以降,以至《史记》《汉书》,史家和史料之因缘际会,却都存在着因人而异性,或不确定性,因而由宋儒请传统《春秋》学走下神坛。于是《史记》《汉书》等史书,因其人为作品之性质,显示了史家、史料诸端局限性的史学困境,这也正是史传文体所遭遇永恒的矛盾和困惑。

Shi zhuan史传and Zhu zi诸子are the classification of literature in Han Shu Yiwenzhi汉书·艺文志,but that of styles in Wen Xin Carving the Dragon文心雕龙,about which Ji Yun纪昀has posed his questions.From a stylistic perspective,historical narratives must maintain the characteristics of seeking truth and establishing great righteousness.For example,the“great righteousness”and the“historical accounts of Lu”together establish the style of Confucius’s The Spring and Autumn Annals春秋.Straightforward records cannot ignore the discussion of righteousness such as good and evil,without which the The Spring and Autumn Annals would be dim and lifeless.This gives rise to the historical distinction between Confucius as the author who“created the Spring and Autumn”and the compiler who“edited the Spring and Autumn”,which can be analyzed from both textual studies and historical studies.From the perspective of the historical narrative,on one hand,Confucius created The Spring and Autumn Annals,highlighting its originality and value as a significant text.On the other hand,Confucius’s compilation demonstrates the integration of historical thoughts and archives,resulting in a text so good that even his most esteemed disciples,Zi You and Zi Xia游夏之徒,were unable to propose any critiques or revisions to it.However,from Confucius to Zuo Qiuming左丘明and onwards to the Records of the Historians史记and Book of Han汉书,the relationship between historians and archives has varied and is often uncertain,leading the Songdynasty Confucian scholars to bring the“Spring and Autumn”studies down from their exalted status.Thus,historical texts such as Records of the Historians and Book of Han,with their nature as human-created works,reveal the historiographical limitations of integrating historians and archives,highlighting the enduring contradictions and confusions inherent in the genre of historical narrative.